The injured wait for help from survivors after the bomb blast in Ankara peace rally. Demotix/Recep Yilmaz. All rights reserved. One
day after twin blasts tore through Ankara’s central station area, thousands of
protestors gathered near the site of the massacre. Yet despite the pleas of the
crowds, a belated security presence has established itself in the capital, denying
access to the thousands of citizens seeking to mourn their dead.
It is
an acute example of the Turkish State’s obsession with post-mortem protocol, or
rather, the illusion of control – in which citizens are seen as a nuisance, to
be endured but not protected. Such scenes have become all too common. And even
if this is Turkey’s most deadly terrorist attack – for now – how long will it
remain so, as the country’s political elite tempts the very forces that
threaten to tear it apart? Increasingly, the standard rationale of the War on
Terror no longer applies to such attacks. With no group claiming responsibility,
the Turkish public’s ire has started to turn against its Government. Not only
for failing to protect its people, but for actively encouraging the very forces
that wreak turmoil and harness civil conflict.
Already
conspiracy theories abound. But what is undeniable, is that were it not for the
polarizing strategies, the hateful rhetoric, and the devastating foreign policy
of the current Government, a public gathering of peaceful activists, unionists,
and associations would have been just that – a pleasant Saturday morning.
Instead, more than a hundred Turkish citizens had their lives brutally cut
short. The Government’s position; to feign ignorance and lay the blame on
others, has become increasingly untenable. Increasingly, the Turkish public
suspects this to be what it is – a tragedy that despite repetition fails to
become farce.
Despite
the shock of Saturday’s massacre, it was an event simultaneously foreseen by
many, yet prevented by none. And with less than three weeks to go until the
elections, the attacks may herald a striking shift in public attitudes. Instead
of blaming foreign fighters already most of the public outcry has been directed
against the Turkish Government. Not only for failing to protect its citizens,
but for actively courting disaster in the pursuit of political ambitions and
petty games. Little wonder, then, that the Government’s immediate response was
to enforce a media ban throughout Turkey, rather than attending to the needs of
its beleaguered citizens.
And
while simultaneously journalists from across the media spectrum were either
facing prosecution or imprisonment, PM Ahmet Davutoğlu announced on live television that the attacks could
be either attributed to ISIS, the PKK, the DHKP-C, and the MLKP. With such a
suicide squad of assorted domestic villains, the Prime Minister’s policy of ‘zero
problems with neighbours’ rings hollow. Instead, it has manifested itself
paradoxically in a deadly resurgence of Turkey’s domestic issues, reminiscent only
of the darkest days of civil conflict endured by Turks during the 1990s.
Only
two things appear certain. There will be three days of mourning, followed by
three weeks of turmoil. Only then, will the Turkish public be allowed to cast
its vote, deciding once and for all whether or not the AKP has recaptured its
cherished political majority.
Already
the costs of political uncertainty have been too high, and nothing indicates
that the upcoming vote will resolve the impasse of having to form a coalition
Government. Regardless of the outcome, the tragic loss of so many lives will
continue to haunt the country. Without a doubt, the anger and sadness will
outlast the next three weeks, and the human cost of the political turmoil will
remain imprinted on Turkey’s collective consciousness, no matter what the
election results.